@AnyOldIron need to leave the buyer with something to consider in bidding, otherwise it’s a brand new car! :) and yes is truth it’s just a case of spending $1000 to make $1000. And some people prefer original with minor flaws over being refurbed and cant reverse originality. For the minor flaws that a buyer will take into account it would materially affect price the same it would cost to fix. We aren’t talking about dented fenders etc. That would be a different story.

Working on window sticker. Wasn’t readily found which was Jaguar was called to discuss options.

@427CSX as the seller of those two record setting Griffiths, I can assure that your $10k * 5 estimate is VERY low even if you were doing the work yourself. And if not doing yourself…well…

On #002, just redoing the aluminum turning on the steering wheel was about 13 hours and redoing the wood more time. Over $2k in just the steering wheel. With price of the car, I don’t see why this isn’t a $100k venture on the lazy end.

To do this car the right way, it will be a project of love not of financial gain. That said, they are special cars and I am sure she will find a loving home to do just that.

To pick up the story from his re-conversion to wanting a BMW, Mike started looking for a 535 and saw this one for sale. He wasn’t super keen on Bronze, but quality trumped color and being a Rolls Royce employee for 20 years, he had a sharp eye for it.

He found the car in the Newport Beach area, originally from an attorney in Irvine, which when the lease ended saw the car making its way to the Bay Area. When he called to buy it, and owner had JUST sold the car, with the guy driving away at the moment. While surfing Craigslist and saw it again at twice the price. He went to go look: Quality was great – interior was good, overall, drove well and paint was fantastic.

For a while it was his daily – and then, to quote Burger he “went down the rabbit hole”
All the work was done himself and with his time at Rolls, he was a stickler for quality.

Paint was entirely original, but in converting to Euro bumpers, it required the valances be painted. This was the only paint work to the body of the car (My own note – which is astounding because there is not even breath of a stone chip on her nose)

The underside is the real jewel. Mike estimates he has several hundred hours in cleaning and presenting the underside. He recalled sitting with tooth brushes for endless hours cleaning. The underside, originally warm gray putty colored and covered in cosmoline, was also then stripped down and painted in Bronzit by hand. Not with a spray gun by hand…with foam brushes and detail brushes.

The engine bay cared the same mantra. Taken apart and cleaned by hand obve the course of MANY hours. Everything was cleaned or redone. Exposed metal like the thermostat housing was ceramic coated to keep its look and cleanliness.

The interior received new M5 front sport seats and the seats reupholstered. The carpets, headliner, console etc are all original. The dash was replaced with a factory unit to swap out some cracks on the original.

A new windshield was put in, and after a drive almost immediately thereafter featured a rock in it. So yet another windshield was put in. Window felts were replaced. Tail lights are original, headlights are Euro and feature functional washer/wipers. The correct Euro harness was installed which was not plug and play and required a bit of work. They use the correct switches inside as well.

The car had an aftermarket exhaust and was replaced with a factory unit.

The tools are original and so is the BMW blue cloth. It was R12 under his ownership and the subsequent owner converted to R134. —

Truly an astounding work of love, passion, attention to detail and focus on originality, without a doubt it is the preeminent 535i in the world. This is a huge photo gallery, some are even a bit duplicative but to show things in different light or angles to really take it all in.

The thing I had to know from Mike was if the engine wiring harness had been replaced. It was not only insanely clean, but the wires were so rubbery and pliable, and the connectors were soft and felt brand new. The answer? Nope.

So apparently the secret to having the best 535i in the world is by starting with one the best 535i and then spending literally years of your life and talent on it.

To pick up the story from his re-conversion to wanting a BMW, Mike started looking for a 535 and saw this one for sale. He wasn’t super keen on Bronze, but quality trumped color and being a Rolls Royce employee for 20 years, he had a sharp eye for it.

He found the car in the Newport Beach area, originally from an attorney in Irvine, which when the lease ended saw the car making its way to the Bay Area. When he called to buy it, and owner had JUST sold the car, with the guy driving away at the moment. While surfing Craigslist and saw it again at twice the price. He went to go look: Quality was great – interior was good, overall, drove well and paint was fantastic.

For a while it was his daily – and then, to quote Burger he “went down the rabbit hole”
All the work was done himself and with his time at Rolls, he was a stickler for quality.

Paint was entirely original, but in converting to Euro bumpers, it required the valances be painted. This was the only paint work to the body of the car (My own note – which is astounding because there is not even breath of a stone chip on her nose)

The underside is the real jewel. Mike estimates he has several hundred hours in cleaning and presenting the underside. He recalled sitting with tooth brushes for endless hours cleaning. The underside, originally warm gray putty colored and covered in cosmoline, was also then stripped down and painted in Bronzit by hand. Not with a spray gun by hand…with foam brushes and detail brushes.

The engine bay cared the same mantra. Taken apart and cleaned by hand obve the course of MANY hours. Everything was cleaned or redone. Exposed metal like the thermostat housing was ceramic coated to keep its look and cleanliness.

The interior received new M5 front sport seats and the seats reupholstered. The carpets, headliner, console etc are all original. The dash was replaced with a factory unit to swap out some cracks on the original.

A new windshield was put in, and after a drive almost immediately thereafter featured a rock in it. So yet another windshield was put in. Window felts were replaced. Tail lights are original, headlights are Euro and feature functional washer/wipers. The correct Euro harness was installed which was not plug and play and required a bit of work. They use the correct switches inside as well.

The car had an aftermarket exhaust and was replaced with a factory unit.

The tools are original and so is the BMW blue cloth. It was R12 under his ownership and the subsequent owner converted to R134. —

Truly an astounding work of love, passion, attention to detail and focus on originality, without a doubt it is the preeminent 535i in the world. This is a huge photo gallery, some are even a bit duplicative but to show things in different light or angles to really take it all in.

The thing I had to know from Mike was if the engine wiring harness had been replaced. It was not only insanely clean, but the wires were so rubbery and pliable, and the connectors were soft and felt brand new. The answer? Nope.

So apparently the secret to having the best 535i in the world is by starting with one the best 535i and then spending literally years of your life and talent on it.

@DaveD most of the hood as far as the space it covers, but as far as the density is concerned it’s not terrible at all. I’m not sure how to quantify the density, but pic 20 is the most dense and largest area of them. The rest are either much less or not present. Most are very very small and needs to have the right light to even see. That photo was shot in a certain angle and then amplified in post edit to show it better so it isn’t exactly that exaggerated in person. They are extremely fine too. Cant even really catch a pinky nail in them. Yes original paint to what I can tell and records show. I’m in front of the car right now under hard florescent light and even then not bad. The middle bulge probably had the most density. Good news it is just black. So if it bothered you it would cost a couple hundred and it would be fresh. That said it’s a 110k mile car so it has it’s small and accurate to the miles share of little paint blemishes so could just be throwing money at it. Have seen checquing like this looks in my travels , but because I can see it I wanted to make sure it was mentioned.

@anyoldiron@yancyn contact with button above and happy to arrange. There is no PM button for us. Yes appears to be monsoon for the next week out here though. Hope you are staying dry!

@z07vette the top of the metal tensioners still have a plastic guide that can show signs of wear over time and there are still stories of updated tensioner failures. Was just cheap piece of mind for the usual sky is failing forum world :)

@427csx remember though that the early number cars were pre production cars, along with cars 015, 016, 017 so and 200-4-000 etc, so car isn’t really car 101. This is entirely useless fact though and I like your explanation better :)

@z07vette never need to apologize for questions, that’s the best part isn’t it?

The checking in the hood paint was mentioned above, its minor in size and requires being close to the hood, but there are a good amount of them. Not uncommon to see in my travels.
Ride: rides nice, soft and like a Jag, and I’d say about on par for a 110k mile European car. Not without its minor squeaks or minor noises, but no major clunks, thunks or bangs etc. I’d say overall it feels authentic to the miles and is a comfortable place to be. No known tps issues from the records. Cooling hoses, yes I believe a few were replaced over time and I believe when the water pump was done as well. Records also show it had regular cooling tests and a reservoir tank done as well.

The original owner has been checking the ad, so if he chooses, maybe he can jump in and speak to anything earlier in its life in which I am unaware.

@toomuchy YIKES! Holy back story Batman, that is some rough stuff out there on the forums, great PSA. Too late on my end it seems, as its a MASSIVE can of undisclosed worms as it turns out as well. Too quick with my draw on the comments it appears. C’est la vie.